Flushing Town Hall Presents 6th Annual Diwali Festival VIRTUALLY

On Saturday, November 7, Flushing Town Hall will celebrate the Festival of Lights with its sixth annual Diwali Festival–reimagined as a FREE virtual event. Audiences can watch the event on Zoom starting at 7:00 PM here or at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83474221283.

“Diwali is a festive time of gift-giving, charity and sharing in feasts with loved ones,” said Ellen Kodadek, Executive and Artistic Director of Flushing Town Hall. “We are very pleased to move our annual Diwali event online while we follow health and safety guidelines for indoor venues. Although we’ll miss audiences in our theater, we plan to create the same excitement for audiences at home as they learn to create delicious Indian foods, explore Diwali’s customs, and discover Indian traditional, folk, and Bollywood dance moves, and have their own dance party at home!”

Diwali, or Deepavali, comes from the Sanskrit word meaning “row of lights.” It is a day of solidarity, where the soft light of diyas – or oil-wick candles – illuminate streets and homes, banishing the darkness of ignorance and suffering. Diwali began as a part of an ancient harvest festival, which celebrated the fertility of the earth and prosperity of the new harvest. Though Diwali has taken on a significant meaning in Hinduism, in India, it is still celebrated by all groups regardless of religious affiliation as a time of renewal and growth.

Our virtual celebration mixes live and pre-recorded content and opens with footage of a home traditionally decorated for Diwali and an explanation of the holiday and traditional foods. Then Nupur Arora, owner of Queens Curry Kitchen. will demonstrate mouth-watering authentic Indian dishes with ingredients that you can find at your local grocer, including Aloo Gobhi (spiced potato and cauliflower), tikka marsala Masala sauce for chicken or tofu, and Ginger chai tea.

Then move the furniture and get ready to move as master Indian dancer Abha B. Roy and the Srijan Dance Center shows you traditional, folk and Bollywood dance moves. This is followed by a three-minute, fun-filled set with Rutgers Tamasha performing a choreographed piece entitled “Riot Maari,” blending a variety of dance forms starting with hip-hop, transitioning to their roots of traditional Bollywood dance, and then ending with classical Southie moves! The piece has been choreographed by Bhaavi Patel and Aarushi Bhardwaj. Now that you are energized, keep moving as DJ Rekha spins the music for a 30-minute Bhangra dance party.

The free event runs from 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM on Zoom starting at 7:00 PM here or at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83474221283.

Audiences can support these amazing artists and Flushing Town Hall by making a donation- and receive some fantastic gifts. Donate:

• $20 - $34 and receive the digital download of Nupur Arora’s The Vegan Indian Home.
• $35 and receive a hard copy of Nupur Arora’s The Vegan Indian Home.
• $250 to $999 and receive a one-hour, family-friendly Indian dance class with Abha Roy on Zoom.
• $1,000 or more and DJ Rekha will provide a 30-minute virtual dance party at your next event.

Get to know our amazing artists:

• Abha Roy is a dancer, choreographer and teaching artist. She is a master Kathak dancer, a classic northern Indian dance form and also holds a master’s degree in geography. A dance Teaching Artist at Flushing Town Hall, she started her career as a classical dancer in 1984, completing her diploma in Kathak under the guidance of late great Guru Kundan Lal Gangani. She attained professional precision under the training of Pt. Durgalal when she completed her specialization in Kathak Kendra, New Delhi. She was commissioned representative of Indian dance, dancing Kathak around the world as she served on the Indian Council of Cultural Relations. Abha has conducted workshops and classes for New York City schools, universities, libraries and museums since 1992. Abha is the founding director of Srijan Dance Center.

• DJ Rekha is a London-born, Flushing-raised musician, DJ, producer, curator and activist. Rekha has been credited with pioneering Bhangra music in North America. Bhangra is a dance and genre of music originates from Punjab a region divided by Indian and Pakistan. Basement Bhangra, NYCs longest continuous monthly nightclub, ran from 1997-2017. DJ Rekha has performed at the Obama White House and internationally.

• Nupur Arora, owner of Queens Curry Kitchen. Nupur started Queens Curry Kitchen as a way to reignite her creativity, stepping away from a fashion career and stepping into authentic Indian homestyle food as a hobby. It soon became hugely popular among Indian international students in NYC who missed the taste of their mom’s food back home. When her own daughter left for college, she decided it was time to create a line of spices that would help her to recreate familiar flavors in the dorm and EZ Curry was born. Today Chef Arora is the author of a book “The Vegan Indian Home” with many others in the works, but continues to share her flavors with her food through online cooking classes, books, vegan meals and her line of EZ curry spice blends to create Indian food in a New York minute!

• Rutgers Tamasha is Rutgers University's premier co-educational and non-competitive Bollywood fusion dance team. The team performs at showcases across the nation as members are exposed to South Asian culture through a variety of forms of dance such as Bhangra, Bharatnatyam, Latin, Hip-Hop, Contemporary, and of course, Bollywood fusion.